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LIGHT INFANTRY & THE RIFLES ROLL OF HONOUR IRAQ

Rest in Peace all those Light Infantrymen who fell in the name of "Fighting Terror ". England, Scotland,Wales and Iraq owe you a lot for your sacrifice. The people of Iraq, who hopefully one day will find peace to live in, owe you "EVERYTHING". But as true professionals and just like soldiers the world over, who fight for their countries beliefs, You will be forgotten by the people you fought to protect or free from oppression - you will be nameless to them all. But that is the destiny of a soldier. The Light Infantry (now The Rifles) will NEVER forget you.
Lance Corporal Paul David Trevor Thomas

Lance Corporal Paul David Trevor Thomas
Was killed in action in Basrah on 17 August 2004. A member of the 2nd Battalion The Light Infantry, he was serving in southern Iraq attached to the 1st Battalion The Cheshire Regiment. Aged 29, he was single and came from Welshpool.

His platoon commander, Lieutenant Will Follett, said:

"Taff was a proud Welshman who had a passion for all sports. He was a keen rugby supporter as well as following his local football club, Shrewsbury Town, He was an immensely popular member of the platoon, widely regarded as its backbone, through his diligence, professionalism and unfaltering enthusiasm to the job and the soldiers under his command. His death has shocked the platoon, especially those soldiers who were with him when he died. He will be sorely missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones at this time."

Lance Corporal Thomas

The service was held with full military honours and the whole Corunna Platoon, which Lance Corporal Thomas was a member of when he was killed, was flown to the UK from Iraq to attend the funeral. Outside the church, Commanding Officer, Lieutenant of the 2nd Battalion The Light Infantry, Tim Shields dubbed the soldier ‘an outstanding Lance Corporal in every way’.  ‘He always gave 100 per cent and never complained.  ‘He was extremely proud of his Welsh routes and I would like to think that wherever he went around the world, a bit of Wales went with him,’ he said. ‘The fact the platoon were able to be here today will I am sure bring some comfort in the family’s time of grief.’

The platoon’s Commander, Lieutenant Will Follett read a eulogy during the funeral service, paying tribute to Lance Corporal Thomas, saying: ‘He had very recently been selected for promotion to full corporal.  ‘In his 29 years Taff saw more action and more of the world than many men three times his age.
‘Men like Taff Thomas are the backbone of the British Army.’

Corporal Matthew Cornish
Corporal Matthew Cornish, 29, of 1st Battalion The Light Infantry (1 LI) in Iraq Tuesday 1 August 2006.

Corporal Matthew Cornish
Corporal Cornish died at approximately 0300hrs on Tuesday morning as a result of wounds sustained in a mortar attack on a Multi National Force base in Basra City. Corporal Cornish sustained serious injuries from the explosion and was evacuated by helicopter to the Field Hospital at Shaibah Logistics Base where sadly he subsequently died from his injuries.

Corporal Matthew Cornish was born on 20 July 1977 and grew up in Yorkshire. He enlisted into the Army in Leeds and started his career in Cyprus. An impressive succession of postings followed, including operational deployments to Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, and to Iraq in 2003 and 2004.

He was serving in Iraq with The Light Infantry, normally based in Paderborn, Germany, and was currently three months into a six-and-a-half month tour as part of 20th Armoured Brigade.
Private Michael Tench

Private Michael Tench, aged 18, of A Company, 2nd Battalion The Light Infantry, died on Sunday 21 January 2007 as a result of injuries sustained from an Improvised Explosive Device placed at a roadside in Basrah City,
Southern Iraq.

He was part of a Warrior patrol that had set out from the Shaat Al Arab Hotel, a British Army base in the North of the city, when the device activated. Four other members of the patrol were injured during the incident.
Private Tench was born in March 1988 and went to school at Hylton Redhouse Comprehensive School in Sunderland. In his spare time he was a keen and talented boxer and regularly trained at Marley Potts Gym in Sunderland. 

He joined the British Army in the spring of 2005, completing his training at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick. On completion of his training he was posted to 2nd Battalion, based in Edinburgh, arriving there in mid-December 2005, and finding himself in A Company's 2 Platoon. After joining the Battalion he spent the first six months of his career occupied with a wide variety of tasks as A Company deployed throughout the UK supporting training for other units preparing for operations. The Company also deployed to Garelochead on the West Coast of Scotland for a demanding week's training, where Private Tench got the opportunity to learn his profession in more depth.
Following the rigours of field training, a change of tack saw Private Tench donning much smarter uniform and providing the ceremonial guard at Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace, the highlight being the arrival parade of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Public duties over, A Company, along with B Company also of 2nd Battalion The Light Infantry, was then warned to prepare itself, in short order, for an operational tour in Iraq, the news of which was well received by Private Tench and his colleagues in 2 Platoon.
After a period of training and some leave, Private Tench deployed to Iraq with A Company on 4 September 2006. The Company was initially based at Shaibah Logistics Base near Basra in Southern Iraq and employed on a variety of tasks including guarding the base, patrolling the local rural area and escorting vital convoys into Basrah City. In mid-December 2006, A Company were informed that reinforcements were required in Basrah City and Private Tench and the rest of 2 Platoon were detached to 1st Battalion The Staffordshire Regiment's Battlegroup at the Shaat Al Arab Hotel, arriving in mid-January 2007. 
Rifleman Coffey
Rifleman Coffey, 21, had been a member of the Devon and Dorset Light Infantry regiment before it became part of the newly-formed Rifles, and was the first soldier of the regiment to be killed in action.

He died as a result of injuries sustained during a patrol in north Basra. He was returning to his base at the Shatt-Al-Arab Hotel after taking part in a task mentoring the Iraqi Police Service when his patrol was ambushed by two gunmen.   He was buried with full military honours on 16th March 2007 in his home town.
Rifleman Coffey was on top cover providing protection for the patrol vehicles when he came under small arms fire attack from the gunmen.

He was immediately evacuated by helicopter to a field hospital and despite the valiant efforts of medical staff and the provision of the best available medical care, he sadly died later in the day from his injuries.

Rifleman Daniel Lee Coffey was born on 8 July 1985 in Exeter. He was single and leaves behind a loving family centred around Cullompton and Newcastle. Rfn Coffey enlisted into the army in August 2005. After completing his Combat Infantryman’s Course at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick where he won best shot, he was posted to The Devon and Dorset Light Infantry (DDLI) in February 2006.

He deployed with the DDLI to Iraq on Operation TELIC 8 between April and November 2006, operating out of the Shaibah Logistics Base on the outskirts of Basra City. He then almost immediately volunteered to serve in Iraq again, deploying to Basra City North with C Company Second Battalion The Rifles in January 2007
Rifleman Lincoln

Rifleman Lincoln, aged 18
It is with deep sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Rifleman Aaron Lincoln, of the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles in Basra City, Iraq on Monday 2 April 2007.

Rifleman Lincoln, aged 18, died as a result of injuries sustained during a patrol. Rifleman Lincoln’s platoon was conducting a security patrol close to Basra Palace, a British Army base in Basra, when a gunman opened fire on part of the patrol. His team was tasked to conduct a follow-up onto the suspected firing point but, as the team attempted to gain access to the building, shots were fired from a different direction. Rifleman Lincoln was hit by small arms fire and was immediately evacuated to Basra Palace and then to the field hospital at Basra Air Station for further medical treatment, but sadly he died of his injuries.From Durham, Rifleman Aaron Lincoln was born on 30 November 1988. His grandfather had served in the Army and it was Rifleman Lincoln’s wish to follow in his footsteps. He completed his basic training at Catterick in July 2006 before joining the 2nd Battalion the Rifles in Weeton.
Rifleman Paul Donnachie

Rifleman Paul Donnachie killed in Iraq

It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Rifleman Paul Donnachie of 2nd Battalion the Rifles in Iraq on Sunday 29 April 2007.

 

Rifleman Donny Donnachie

Rifleman Donnachie, aged 18, from Reading in Berkshire, was killed by small arms fire during a routine patrol in the Al Ashar district of Basra City at 0930hrs on Sunday 29 April 2007.

Rifleman Donnachie and other members of his patrol were taking part in an escorting patrol for a police training team. His role was to provide vital observation over the ground while the vehicles in his patrol were stationary.

It was while Rifleman Donnachie was dismounted and checking part of the patrol's route that he was shot by an opportunist gunman. Rifleman Donnachie was immediately evacuated to Basra Palace,
but sadly he subsequently died from his injuries.

Coporal Jeremy Brookes

Corporal Jeremy Brookes 4 RIFLES - Iraq 21st May 2007

Corporal Jeremy Brookes, aged 28, of 4th Battalion The Rifles, died as a result of injuries sustained from a small arms fire attack on his patrol in Basra City.He was commanding a Bulldog Armoured Vehicle involved in escorting a routine re-supply convoy in the Al Tuwaysa district of the city at approximately 1530 Local Time when the attack happened.  Despite his colleagues' best efforts to provide first aid and evacuate him to Basra Palace, he sadly died from his injuries.
Corporal Rodney Wilson
Corporal Rodney Wilson 4 RIFLES - Iraq 7th June 2007
Corporal Wilson, aged 30, was killed in the Al Atiyah district, north west of Basra City at about 0220 hours. His patrol was part of a search and detention operation led by 2nd Battalion The Royal Welch when they came under attack from small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades.  The patrol took casualties and, despite the heavy fire, Corporal Wilson stepped in to evacuate one of the wounded when he himself was hit.
Major Paul Harding
Major Paul Harding 4 RIFLES - Iraq 20th June 2007
Major Harding, aged 48, died as a result of an indirect fire attack on the Provincial Joint Coordination Centre in Basra in the early hours of the morning, local time. With his death, The RIFLES lost one of its most senior, long-serving and admired Riflemen, and the country lost a veteran soldier of deep personal integrity, professional excellence, wisdom, experience and simple decency. 
Corporal John Rigby
Corporal John Rigby 4 RIFLES - Iraq 22nd June 2007
Corporal Rigby, aged 24, from Rye, died from injuries sustained by a roadside bomb attack in Basra.  He made a judgement that someone had to expose themselves and be ready to engage enemy gunmen and bombers in order to protect the vehicle and its driver and commander, and it is typical of his courage, selflessness and leadership that he chose to do it himself instead of ordering one of his beloved Riflemen to do so. 
Rifleman Edward Vakabua
4 RIFLES - Iraq 6th July 2007
Rifleman Edward Vakabua, aged 23, from Nailuva Road in Suva, Fiji, was serving in Mortar Platoon attached to 7 Platoon, B Company, 4th Battalion The Rifles.  His death was as a result of an accident that took place at the Basra Palace base in Basra City, southern Iraq.